Goals

The Niagara Quick Start is designed to get you acquainted with creating visual effects (VFX) in Unreal Engine using Niagara. You will create a puff of smoke effect and attach it to your character's footsteps. It will look like the following.

Objectives

Set up your project with meshes and materials for use with Niagara.
Create a basic smoke effect using a Niagara system.
Attach the smoke effect to a character's run animation.

1 - Setting Up Your Project

For the duration of this guide, use the Blueprint Third Person Template project with Starter Content enabled. If you have not created a project in Unreal Engine, see Create a Project.

Launch Unreal Engine from the Epic Games Launcher.
Click Games, then select the Third Person Template. Enable Starter Content.
If needed, Browse to a new Project Path.
Give your project a Project Name.
Click Create to create your project.

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Before you start creating your Niagara effect, you need to set up your project with some basic materials and assets that you will be using in the rest of this guide. After you complete this section, you will have everything you need to create your Niagara effect.

Create or Import a Mesh Shape

The first thing you need for your project is a mesh shape for your effect. The shape you want to create or import is a cloud. There are a few ways of bringing in a mesh object into Unreal Engine:

Create your model in the 3D software of your choice, then export it as an .fbx file to easily import it into Unreal Engine.
Browse for a free cloud model on a site like Sketchfab, then import it into Unreal Engine.
Model the cloud directly in Unreal Engine using the Modeling Mode tools.

Create or download a cloud model similar to the following.

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The cloud asset used in this tutorial is from Sketchfab. This model is called CLOUD high poly, created by and copyrighted to gaelinix. This model is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

You can download the model here.

You can also model your own cloud. Even if you do not have access to a high-end 3D modeling application like 3DS Max or Maya, you can use an open-source 3D modeling application such as Blender.

Once you have the model created or downloaded, create a place to store that model in the Content folder for easy organization.

In the Content Browser, right-click and select New Folder to create a folder for your assets. Name it Cloud.
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Drag and drop your 3D model into the Content Browser to import it into your project.

For more information on how to import your model into Unreal Engine, see Importing Content.

Create and Configure a Material

When you imported your cloud model, Unreal Engine may have created a Material for that model automatically. If not, you must create your own.

Right-click in the Content Drawer and select Material. You can skip this step if Unreal Engine imported a material when you imported the model.
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Name the new material CloudMaterial.
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Double-click the material to open it in the Material Editor.
With the main Material node selected, locate the Material section in the Details panel. Change the Blend Mode to Translucent. Check the box for Two Sided. Leave the other settings at their default.
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If you imported a model and you are using that material, there may already be something connected to the Base Color of the material. Delete this, as you will use the Niagara system's Particle Color setting to drive the material's color instead. If your material has nothing connected to Base Color, you can skip this step.
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Right-click in the graph and type particle in the search bar. Select Particle Color to add the node.
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Plug the top output of the Particle Color node into the Base Color input on the main Material Node.
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If you imported a model, it may have automatically created a Texture Sample node and connected it. If there isn't one, create your own. You can do this by holding T and clicking inside the Node Graph.
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You will add some noise from the Starter Content to the texture to make it appear more like smoke. With the Texture Sample node selected, locate the Material Expression Texture Base section in the Details panel. Next to Material, click the dropdown, then type Noise in the search bar. Select the T_Perlin_Noise_M texture.
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Right-click in the graph and type dynamic in the search bar. Select Dynamic Parameter to add that node.
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With the Dynamic Parameter node selected, locate the Material Expression Dynamic Parameter section in the Details panel. In Array 0, change the name to Erode.
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Right-click in the graph and type step in the search bar. Select Value Step to add that node.
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Drag off the R output of the Texture Sample node, and plug it into the Gradient input of the Value Step node.
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Drag off the Erode output of the Dynamic Parameter node, and plug it into the Mask Offset Value input of the Value Step node.
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Drag off the Results output of the Value Step node, and plug it into the Opacity input of the main Material node.
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Click Apply and Save, then close the Material Editor.

Section Result

You have now imported a mesh model of a cloud. You have also set up the material. You are now ready to create the Niagara effect.

2 - Creating Your Effect

Create the System

Next you will create your Niagara system.

Right-click in the Content Drawer and select Niagara System.
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Select New system from selected emitters. Then click Next.
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Under Template, select Simple Sprite Burst. Click the Plus sign icon (+) to add the emitter to the list of emitters to add to the system. Then click Finish.
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Name the system FX_DustCloud. Double-click to open it in the Niagara Editor.
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The emitter instance in your new system has the default name of SimpleSpriteBurst. You can rename it, however. Double-click the name of the emitter instance in the System Overview, and the field will become editable. Name the emitter FX_DustCloud.
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If you only have one emitter in your Niagara System, renaming it is optional. However, if you create a Niagara system with more than one emitter, naming them is important for organization and clarity.

Configure the Render Group

The Emitter is set up as a vertical stack, broken up into groups. The default groups in the emitter are:

Emitter Spawn
Emitter Update
Particle Spawn
Particle Update
Render

To find out more about Emitter Groups and how they work, see the Niagara Overview page.

Because you are using a 3D model to generate the effect, you need to set up the Render group first in order to see the preview.

In the System Overview, select Render to open the Render group in the Selection panel.
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Because you are using a 3D model, you need a Mesh Renderer and not a Sprite Renderer. Click the Trashcan icon to delete the Sprite Renderer. Selection panel.
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With the Render group selected, in the Details panel, click the Plus sign icon (+). Select Mesh Renderer from the list to add this module to the Render group.
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For Facing Mode, click the dropdown and select Velocity.
Click the triangle next to Meshes to expand the array. This array is where you can add one or more mesh objects to the renderer. Click the dropdown next to Index (0) in the array, then select the mesh you imported in the Project Setup section.
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Click to the checkbox Enable Override Materials. You can then specify the material to apply to the mesh. The default is 0 Array elements. Click the Plus sign (+) icon to add an array element.
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Click the dropdown next to Explicit Mat, then select the material you made in the Project Setup section.
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From the Content Browser, drag your Niagara system into your Level. Position it near the foot of the Player Character, so you can check the size and shape of the effect in relationship to the character.

When you make a particle effect, it is always a good idea to drag your system into your level. This gives you a chance to see every change and edit in context.

Section Result

After completing this section, you have a Niagara system and an emitter instance, and you have dragged the system into the Level so you can preview it next to the Player Character. In the next part, you will edit the settings in the Niagara system to create the dust cloud effect.

3 - Editing the Module Settings

The Niagara Editor displays each emitter as a stack, with several groups of settings. You will edit the modules in each group one at a time.

This effect does not have any modules in the Emitter Spawn group, so you will skip that section. For more information on the different groups and what they do, see the Niagara Overview page.

Configure the Emitter Update Group

First you will edit the modules in the Emitter Update group. Modules placed in this group will update every frame as the system ages.

In the System Overview, click the Emitter Update group to open it in the Selection panel.
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Expand the Emitter State module. By default, the Life Cycle Mode should be set to Self.

Change the Emitter State settings to the following values. This will give you a dust poof that appears once and then dissipates.

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Parameter	Value
Life Cycle Mode	Self
Inactive Response	Complete
Loop Behavior	Once
Loop Duration Mode	Fixed
Loop Duration	1

Expand the Spawn Burst Instantaneous module. Set the Spawn Count to 10. A spawn count of 10 gives us a dust cloud that is big enough to be visible, but small enough to be plausible.
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Configure the Particle Spawn Group

Next, you will edit the modules in the Particle Spawn group. These are behaviors that apply to particles when they first spawn.

In the System Overview, click the Particle Spawn group to open it in the Selection panel.
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Expand the Initialize Particle module. Under Point Attributes, locate the Lifetime Mode dropdown. Use the dropdown to select Random. This adds Minimum and Maximum fields to the Lifetime value. This will add some variation in how long each particle displays. Set the Minimum and Maximum fields to the following.
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Setting Value

Minimum .4

Maximum .6
Locate the Color setting. In the example, the Color is set to a light tan color that looks like dust. Click on the color swatch, then use a color picker to choose a color. This value is saved to Particle Color, that you already connected to the material in the Project Setup step.
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Setting	Value
Minimum	.4
Maximum	.6

You will add some variation to the size of the particles by adding a random factor to the mesh scale. Under Mesh Attributes, locate the Mesh Scale Mode dropdown. Select Random Uniform. Set the following values for Mesh Uniform Scale Min and Mesh Uniform Scale Max.

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Setting	Value
Mesh Uniform Scale Min	1.0
Mesh Uniform Scale Max	2.0

With the Particle Spawn group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a new module to this group. Select Orientation > Initial Mesh Orientation. This contains rotation settings for your particle mesh. You want to add some rotation to the shape so it is less uniform. This will make the dust cloud look a little more natural.
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Under Rotation, click to enable initial rotation in the module. Click the downward arrow next to Rotation, then select Dynamic Inputs > Random Ranged Vector.
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Minimum and maximum values generate a random factor to the initial rotation. Leave the Minimum and Maximum values at their default.
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With the Particle Spawn group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a new module. Select Location > Shape Location. The Shape Location module lets you set a region in which new particles are created when they are born.
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For this example, set Shape Primitive to Cylinder. You can experiment with different shapes in future examples depending on the look you want to achieve. For now, you want the dust cloud to stay close to the ground, so change the Cylinder Height to 1. You do not want the dust cloud to be too much bigger than the foot, so change the Cylinder Radius to 10.

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Setting	Value
Shape Primitive	Cylinder
Cylinder Height	1.0
Cylinder Radius	10.0

With the Particle Spawn group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a new module to this group. Select Velocity > Add Velocity. When you add velocity in the Particle Spawn group, it adds an initial velocity to the particles at the moment of their birth, at the specified speed.
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Set the Velocity Mode to From Point. This will apply velocity radially outwards from the origin point of the Niagara system. Set the Velocity Speed to 20. you do not want the particles to spread too far, just enough to represent dust that is disturbed by the runner's footsteps. You can adjust this value as needed to achieve the look you like.
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With the Particle Spawn group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a new module to this group. Select Forces > Acceleration Force. You are going to use this to give the dust cloud a small amount of upward momentum, so the dust cloud spreads out and up from the character's footstep.
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An error displays after you add a velocity or force module, because added modules are always positioned at the bottom of the group's stack. That positioning places them after the Solve Forces and Velocity module. All velocity and force modules need to be placed above the solver to be properly computed.
Click Fix Issue to resolve this error. Alternatively, You could manually move the module above Solve Forces and Velocity by dragging it up in the stack.
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In the Acceleration Force module, set the Acceleration to X:0, Y:0, and Z:200. Now the dust cloud spreads out and up, but the upward momentum is a little too much. In the Particle Update step, you will add drag to slow down the upward momentum of the dust particles on each frame.
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Configure the Particle Update Group

Finally, you will edit the settings in the Particle Update group. These behaviors are calculated on each particle every frame.

In the System Overview, click the Particle Update group to open it in the Selection panel.
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Click the Trashcan icon to delete the Scale Color module. You will not need it for this effect.
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With the Particle Update group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a new module. Select Materials > Dynamic Material Parameters. This is how you will connect to the Erode Dynamic Parameter in your Material.
You can drag to reorder modules in the emitter in the System Overview. However, you cannot reorder modules in the Selection panel.

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In the Dynamic Material Parameters module, you see the Erode parameter you set up in your material. Click the downward arrow for Erode, and select Dynamic Inputs > Float from Curve.
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In the curve editor, click the Drop Off template to apply that style to the curve. This will make the material fade out over time.
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With the Particle Update group selected, click the Plus sign icon (+) to add a module to this group. Select Forces > Drag.
An error displays after you add a velocity or force module, because added modules are always positioned at the bottom of the group's stack. That positioning places them after the Solve Forces and Velocity module. Click Fix Issue to resolve this error.

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In the Drag module, set the Drag to 8. The Drag setting interacts with the acceleration force and keeps the dust cloud's upward movement from seeming too unrealistic.
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Section Result

You have created the dust effect, and you should be able to see it in your level, next to the Player Start model. If the effect does not look right to you, you can adjust the various module settings until you like the look of the effect.

4 - Attaching the Niagara Effect to a Character

Now you are going to add this effect to a character's run animation. In this example, you will attach the effect to the generic Quinn character included in the Third Person template. However, you can use these steps to add a Niagara effect to any character you have set up in Unreal Engine.

In the Content Drawer, navigate to Content > Characters > Mannequins > Animations > Quinn. Double-click the MF_Run_Fwd animation to open it in the Animation Editor.
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In the Animation timeline, click Pause to pause the looping animation. Use the scrub pointer to find the moment the character's right foot hits the ground. You are going to put your dust effect right at that spot.
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Locate the Notifies section. With a notify, you are marking the animation with a location for an effect. To keep your timeline organized, create a new track to put the Niagara events on. Click on Track, then select Add Notify Track. Name it Niagara.
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You will see a line that runs down from the scrub bar in the timeline. Right-click where the playhead intersects with the Niagara notify track. Select Add Notify > Play Niagara Particle Effect. A marker is placed at that point in the animation, with the default label PlayNiagaraEffect.
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With the PlayNiagaraEffect notify selected, locate the Anim Notify section in the Details panel. This is where you select the Niagara System you want to add to the animation. Click the dropdown next to Niagara System, and select the FX_DustCloud system you created in Niagara. The label on the notify changes to FX_DustCloud.
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Repeat the above steps for the left foot. You can also copy and paste Notifies directly in the timeline. To refine the look further, you can offset the location of the cloud to match the position of each foot where it hits the ground. With the Anim Notify selected, locate the Location Offset values. Adjust the values as needed.
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Click Play in the Timeline to see a preview of the effect, and refine values as needed.
Close the Animation Editor. In the Level Editor, click the Play button to preview the level. Run around and see your effect in action.

Section Result

You have attached the Niagara effect to your character's run animation. Congratulations!

Refining the Look of the Smoke Cloud

You may want to continue tweaking the values to get the final look that you want. Here are some ideas of things you can try to go back and play around with, now that your scene is set up:

Try adjusting the color in the Initialize Particle module.
Add a Scale Mesh Size module to the Particle Update group. Set the Scale Factor to Vector from Curve, and play around with different shapes to change the size of the cloud over time.
Refine the size of the model in the Mesh Renderer.
Refine the location of the cloud in the Anim Notify.

5 - Reviewing the End Result

You have finished making the effect in the Quick Start guide. It should look similar to the following.

6 - On Your Own

Now that you have created a basic effect and attached it to a character, you can try some other related tutorials to do more with this character. You can also make more effects in Niagara.

You can use a Ribbon to create a trail behind your character as it runs.
You can check out our Animation tutorials to learn how to create or modify additional animations for your character.
You can learn how to use Animation Blueprints to do even more with your character.

Prerequisite topics

Goals

Objectives

1 - Setting Up Your Project

Create or Import a Mesh Shape

Create and Configure a Material

Section Result

2 - Creating Your Effect

Create the System

Configure the Render Group

Section Result

3 - Editing the Module Settings

Configure the Emitter Update Group

Configure the Particle Spawn Group

Configure the Particle Update Group

Section Result

4 - Attaching the Niagara Effect to a Character

Section Result

Refining the Look of the Smoke Cloud

5 - Reviewing the End Result

6 - On Your Own